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Pan Post 149
Pan Post 149 continues from Tales Post 18, this time it centres on Highemperor's search for Ameryl Hypericum after he has learnt she was usurped by her twin sister, Imeryn Hypericum, in Pan Post ?. He uses the powers of the Sixteen Sisters of Serleria to locate her, confounding the will of the Writers. He blasts through the Multiverse to find an ominous tower, at the top of which he finds Ameryl. However she doesn't recognise him. Initially he thought her memory had been wiped but then he realises this must be Ameryl of an alternate reality. She indulges him because she finds the concept amusing. She takes him to an esoteria, which stores her memory of the betrayal of her sister, Imeryn Hypericum. She reveals how a foreign invader to the Hydriaverse, The Imperium, has been conquering the universe and she was forced to build a wall across the whole universe, which she calls Hydrians Wall. He offers to teach her Powerplaying, in return she would learn not to hate her sister who betrayed her and sought ultimate power for herself. Post The Prequel Part II This post expands on Tales Post 18. A long, long time ago in a galaxy far away...Star Wars opening crawl article, Wikipedia.'' so far that it's in another universe. Long before the Time Lock of the High Empire came into effect, thus trapping the majority of the High Empire and its emperor in a time lock, Highemperor was still in search of Ameryl, his former lover. He had seduced her and her twin sister, Imeryn, and intended to make them two more of his wives but upon his return to their side he found that Imeryn had supplanted and exiled Ameryl. Highemeperor attempted to chase after Ameryl but was blocked from meeting her by none other than the Writers themselves.'' But, at last, he has caught her trail and he blasts through the barriers of space-time to traverse through the Multiverse until he appears to the exact location he had detected her scent. The trail had been found using the powers of the Sixteen Sisters of Serleria's powerful magic after a long session in their sex chamber. Pleased that he had managed to outwit his own Writer and not wanting him to realise Highemperor was close to getting his love back, Highemperor blundered straight in. Highemperor looks up at the black, angular, skyscraping tower but he barely sees it - his head is filled with fanciful daydreams of how he will marry this particular conquest and have children with her (not knowing, at this time, that she had already aborted the last one). He floats up the unnecessarily long staircase to the tower and he does finally wonder where the hell he actually is. This place doesn't seem like the kind of décor Ameryl would usually like. Then he realises that it has been a long time since he knew her, if her ever truly 'knew her at all. He passes through the large, triangular, white doors that are already pinned open. He finds the place to be strangely void of life considering the size of the place. His steps echo brilliantly through the wide hall and he feels quite lonely. He dares to speak out; Highemperor: "Ameryl? Where are you?" Ameryl: "I am here." He finally sees her, down at the far end of the hall, where she is lounging in a large, white throne. She holds a large goblet of wine in one hand while the other hangs on the throne's armrest. To his eyes she looks older, fiercer. He can only imagine how her life must have changed so much after being exiled. How could she have coped with no servants!? The horror. Highemperor: "I have come for you Ameryl." Ameryl: "You have have you? And did my dear sister send you?" She swallows a gulp of wine with contempt. Highemperor: "No. I came by myself. Your sister has... betrayed me." Ameryl smirks at that. Ameryl: "As is her way. So why are you here? You got past my defences easily enough. Are you my enemy?" Highemperor: "No! Never your enemy, Ameryl! I love you!" She is taken aback by that and she stares at him, as though seeing him for the first time. Ameryl: "Who... are you?" Highemperor: "You don't remember me? Imeryn... how cruel! She has gone too far this time! She was wrong to deny you your part of the empire, she was wrong to take Peysiant Guril for herself but to take away your memories of ME!? How dare she!" Ameryl looks at him as though he is an alien. Well he is an alien but you know what I mean. Ameryl: "What the bloody hell are you on about, you lunatic?" He falls to one knee before her and places a hand on hers. Highemperor: "You don't remember me, Ameryl, but we were once lovers. I wanted to marry you but when I returned you had already been exiled from Hypericum. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me. But I am here now!" She stares at him in bewilderment for a moment. Then she yanks her hand back. She follows the action with a sudden, forceful, push of magic that strikes Highemperor with a sudden, unexpected slam. He is propelled away from the throne and back into the hall. He lands on the ground and slides some way along it before he stops. He groans as his head spins. He knows Ameryl is powerful in magic but she never had enough power to take him by surprise before. She has changed. Grown. He floats back up to his feet and dusts down his arms. Highemperor: "That wasn't very nice." Ameryl: "I don't know who you are or what games you are playing but I want you to leave. Now." Highemperor: "Ameryl--" Ameryl: "This is your only warning and I give it only because of your misguided profession of love. If you don't comply, I will execute you here and now." That doesn't sound like Ameryl at all. He doesn't believe that she could ever execute someone standing before her except in self-defence. He doesn't care how much time they've spent apart. Highemperor: "You would never--" A sphere appears around Highemperor that he feels rather than sees. The oxygen in the sphere begins to rapidly drain to leave him in a vacuum. He frowns. She's trying to choke him. Highemperor: "I stand corrected." He speaks but his words are actually unable to carry through the vacuum. She watches him with renewed interest. She finally relents with the vacuum sphere seeing as he apparently didn't need to breathe air. Ameryl: "You're obviously not a hypericumite then." Highemperor: "No I'm not." Ameryl: "So you are an enemy from outside. Just who are you? What kind of game are you trying to play here? You couldn't have expected me to fall for such a silly trick. Professing to love me like that. Ridiculous." Highemperor: "I am Highemperor of the High Empire and I do love you. We met when you were a little girl and then later when I returned we made love with--" Ameryl: "That definitely didn't happen." Highemperor looks at this woman. She is a typical hypericumite in that she is short and white-skinned and her hair is a lovely shade of pink. But something in her demeanour seems to speak more than her appearance. She looks like Ameryl but... isn't. Highemperor: "Oh no. Damn..." Ameryl: "What?" Highemperor: "I've made a mistake. You must be Ameryl from another reality." Ameryl: "... what are you talking about?" Highemperor: "I'm from another universe called the NeSiverse. In my version of reality I met another you but we were separated thanks to the Writers." Ameryl: "Writers?" Highemperor: "You don't know about the Narrative? How all of this is just a big Story written by Writers?" Ameryl: "... now I know you're short of more than just a few marbles." Highemperor: "I think I've interfered in your reality more than enough for now anyway. I shouldn't say more. I wasn't trying to trick you, Ameryl, I just made a mistake... you look so much like her. But you seem... colder. Can I ask what happened to make you this way?" Ameryl looks at him with curiosity and distrust but a glimmer that said she wanted to trust him. Ameryl: "Let's just say that I believe you... I want to know what would make your Ameryl not like me? Did her sister not betray her? Ruin her life?" Highemperor: "She did. Admittedly I haven't seen Ameryl since that day but even then, I know she would still have purity in her heart. I don't know if she is exactly innocent but I know she isn't cruel. I see that in you. I see cruelty." Ameryl: "I am not cruel." She tosses her, now empty, goblet aside flippantly. Ameryl: "My sister betrayed me and Hypericum went to war. I had done so much for this empire. Defeated so many enemies to make us great and then... she does this to me. I am not cruel. I am angry." Highemperor: "You're a warrior?" Ameryl: "Of course." Highemperor: "Maybe that explains the difference then. My Ameryl is no such thing. She is more of a student. A learner. A thinker." Ameryl: "Then she's not so different from me. I just put my studies to practical use. Come. I shall indulge you. I find your tale amusing." She rises from her chair and begins to glide into the air. She rises up. The building has no stairs or lifts, it's designed only for those capable of flight. He follows after her and they soar upwards towards the peak of the tower and then into one of the rooms. It appears to be quite small compared to most of the rooms he saw on his way up. It's more cozy. She pulls down a container and opens it to reveal the trapped esoteria inside it. She snags it with her hand and gently tosses it into the centre of the room where the aether is mixed into it to produce an image of the memories. Highemperor smiles. He hasn't had to use esoteria in a long time. Now he can contain all knowledge within his mind despite the supposed limitations of the human brain. Being a Powerplayer, limitations are inapplicable. Highemperor: "Why do you have the betrayal memory as esoteria? How do you even know she betrayed you if you removed them memory and put it in here?" Ameryl: "Knowing something and experiencing it first hand are two different things. It hurts to know what she did to me, but I have removed the feeling of the events from my person so it... hurts less than it should." Highemperor: "I'm sorry..." Ameryl manipulates the memories so create a kind of story montage for her guest. Ameryl: "Together we conquered galaxies. We defeated other kingdoms and empires. We enslaved many species beyond our own hypericumites. The humans, the elves, the alimean, the falleen. I was the brains she was the brawns. I'm good with magic but she always had more power behind her. I planned and set up strategies and she enacted them. Obviously she got all the credit from the generals and the people but I didn't mind. I didn't need the glory, I just wanted to feel like I was doing something great." Highemperor: "Admirable." He couldn't help but gaze at her beauty. But that same beauty hurt him. He wanted her but he knew she would be a poor substitute for the real thing and he couldn't do that to himself. Ameryl: "Our parents were most pleased--" Highemperor: "Your parents are alive?" Ameryl: "Very much so. They rule Hypericum. Me and Imeryn are its commanders and princesses." She frowns at the knowledge of her alternate reality's parents deaths. Highemperor wonders if that is the real reason for the difference. Parental pressure changed this Ameryl into an aspiring, cold-hearted warrior. Ameryl: "Then we came across the Enemy." Highemperor: "The Enemy?" Ameryl: "They call themselves The Imperium." Highempror: "No way..." Ameryl: "They'd been spreading across the universe just like we had been only slower. If anything our meeting seemed to speed up their rate of expansion, probably guessing they'd need it if they were going to battle against us. Their ruler is simply named EMPEROR. Always written in capital letters. I've never seen him nor heard him speak yet everyone knows his name. EMPEROR." Highemperor: "I feel like I could sue the guy for copyright." Ameryl gives him a sardonic smile. Ameryl: "I did wonder at your name. I guess all you outsiders have stupid names... and yes, I did eventually realise that The Imperium is from outside our universe. From outside of the Hydriaverse." Highemperor: "Sure, insult me. It's fine. I'll pretend I'm not crying on the inside." His Ameryl would have laughed at that. This Ameryl didn't. Ameryl: "I came up with a plan. To build a wall." Highemperor: "A wall?" Ameryl: "A defensive perimiter from one end of the universe to the other to guard Hypericum." Highemperor balks. Highemperor: "Across the whole universe!? Seriously?" Ameryl: "It actually consists of trillions of walls with shield projectors that create barriers between each wall. All creating one big wall I just called Hydrians Wall. The perimeter turned out to be a stroke of luck because it's held. Over the past few decades conflict between us one of side of the universe and the Enemy on the other have come to a kind of stalemate. Sometimes there's a skirmish here or there but we've essentially become deadlocked. I get the feeling that they're up to something but I don't know what..." Highemperor: "But what about your sister?" Ameryl: "During this deadlock a lot of politics have resumed. For the most part we had all been united by our manifest destiny and then the war against the Enemy. But now everyone is backstabbing each other for political power again. My sister saw her chance to usurp all power for herself. I don't know why. We worked well together but now she wants me out. We went to war. Can you imagine? The Imperium at our walls and we enter into a Civil War!?" Highemperor: "It does seem senseless. Maybe she made some kind of... deal?" Ameryl: "That's what I thought. I had to capitulate quickly so as to preserve our forces for the real threat. Our parents just watched it all happen and then accepted Imeryn's victory. I've been relegated to this world. When the Enemy comes I won't be there to stop them and I'll gladly watch Imeryn fall. If she did make a deal with them it doesn't seem to be standing now. So to hell with her." She conjures a new goblet of wine into her hand as old pains finally return at the end of her lecture. For a moment she had been able to lose herself in her narration but now it's over she has nothing to reality to look forward to. Highemperor: "And what do you want to happen now? Take back power for yourself?" Ameryl: "That would be something wouldn't it? Just watching Imeryn burn would be good enough and about the only thing I can say is likely going to happen!" She salutes her goblet to the notion and downs it all in one. She gives a drunken groan afterwards. Highemperor watches the still-frame image of Hydrians Wall. Highemperor: "You know... I am to blame for Imeryn's betrayal? The one in my reality I mean." Ameryl: "How so?" Highemperor: "I gave her the power to do it. I taught her to use infinite powers that she could conjure up without even the use of aether. I'd say Ameryl stood no chance when Imeryn's thirst for power grew..." There's a moment of silence as both considered those words and Highemperor feels as though he could sense Ameryl's thoughts. He snaps his head up to look at her. Highemperor: "I could teach you... but I'd have to chargeMilkshake (song) article, Wikipedia.." Ameryl raises an eyebrow. Ameryl: "You can't have my milkshake." Highemperor: "That--that's not what I had in mind! If I help you the only thing I ask of you is this; Don't hate your sister for what's she done. Sisters shouldn't fight. Your a family. No matter how terrible they are." Ameryl: "That's a steep price." Highemperor: "But you'll consider it, right?" Ameryl: "I am interested in this... aetherless magic you refer to..." References External References Category:Pan Post Category:Post